1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to a flash card connector having a shield with retention members for easy attachment of the shield to a housing of the electrical connector.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Conventional flash card connectors employ various processes for securing a shield to a housing thereof. For example, opposite flanges of the shield are bent inwardly. Then the shield is put onto the housing and the flanges interferentially clamp opposite sides of the housing. The various processes all require steps in addition to the steps required to otherwise assemble the connector. All such additional steps necessitate further effort and expense.
A conventional flash card connector has a shield which is mounted to a printed circuit board (PCB) by a pair of screws inserted into through holes defined on lateral forward ends of the shield. A grounding path is thereby established between the PCB, the screws, and the shield. Such means of mounting require steps in addition to the steps required to otherwise mount the flash card connector to the PCB, thereby necessitating further effort and expense.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a flash card connector having a shield which can be easily and reliably attached to a housing of the connector.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a flash card connector having a shield with a tubiform flange of the ejecting means integrally formed with the shield.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a flash card connector having a shield and grounding members for conveniently grounding the shield to a printed circuit board.
To achieve the above-mentioned objects, a flash card connector of the present invention includes a dielectric housing, a plurality of conductive terminals received in the housing, a pair of grounding members, and a subassembly. The subassembly includes a metal shield and ejecting means. The ejecting means includes a tubiform flange, an ejecting arm rotatably connected to the shield at a pivot, a push rod moveably received in the tubiform flange, and a spring retained within the push rod.
The housing defines an upper surface, a bottom surface, and a pair of opposite side surfaces. Each side surface defines a pair of recesses at opposite ends thereof, and a channel between the recesses. Each grounding member is L-shaped and includes a wider lower portion, a narrower intermediate portion and a narrower upper portion. The lower portion forms a plurality of barbs at lateral edges thereof. Each grounding member engages with the corresponding channel in the housing.
The shield includes a base plate, a first flange extending from an edge of the base plate, the tubiform flange extending from an opposite edge of the base plate, and two pairs of retention members. The first flange and the tubiform flange each provide an inwardly protruding grounding finger corresponding to the channel of the housing. Each pair of retention members is located adjacent to the first flange and to the tubiform flange, respectively. Each retention member includes a tongue for engaging with the corresponding recess in the housing.
In assembly, the shield is attached to the bottom surface of the housing. The grounding fingers of the shield contact corresponding grounding members in the channels of the housing. The grounding members can be soldered onto a printed circuit board, thereby establishing an electrical connection with a grounding circuit of the printed circuit board.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.